


Out There

by Cimorene14



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Angst, Avengers Feels, Bruce Banner Needs a Hug, Clint Needs a Hug, F/F, F/M, M/M, Most of the original characters will be extremely minor, Multi, Natasha Romanov Is a Good Bro, Original Character(s), Reader-Insert, Soulmate AU, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Steve Rogers Feels, Steve Rogers waking up from a coma, That's you, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Wrote this at midnight on a coffee binge, except the reader, hugs for everyone, there needs to be more avengers soulmate au's out there
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-10-15
Updated: 2017-01-01
Packaged: 2018-08-22 12:43:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,540
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8286259
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cimorene14/pseuds/Cimorene14
Summary: In a world where everything you did and said, and who you did those things with and said those things to, was dictated by the name printed on your skin, a girl without a name was lost.





	1. God help the outcasts

**Author's Note:**

> First of all, thank you for reading this story. I wrote this at an extremely late hour while hyped up on a lot of caffiene and a prayer, so fingers crossed that A. The plot makes sense, and B. That my grammar and spelling is decent at best because, if i'm being honest English was only my strong suit up to Middle school when they actually started making me follow the rules. Basically I got tired of not finding enough Avengers Soulmate AU's and this wonderful little idea popped into my head, also I hate Reader fics where it goes something like: Your E/C orbs stared into his, you could feel something as his hand ran through your H/C locks, "Y/N," He smiled when he said your name, "I love you." Your E/C eyes filled with tears, "Oh Tony, I love you too." Let's be real, it takes out out of the story. So this story will be noticeably devoid of any descriptors like H/C, E/C, etc. Instead you'll have to use your lovely imaginations, or just look in the mirror if you forgot what you look like.  
> Hope you enjoy, I certainly did.

In a world where everything you did and said, and who you did those things with and said those things to, was dictated by the name printed on your skin, a girl without a name was lost.

You had been born without a soul name. This hadn't worried your parents, it just meant that your soulmate hadn't been born yet, they simply kept an eye out for any appearance of ink on your skin no matter how small and the day you came home from preschool with marker all over your hands and face, your dad nearly had a heart attack while eagerly checking you over. It was the first of many disappointments. 

Growing up wasn't so bad, a lot of kids at school didn't have their soul names yet, you had several friends who didn't, and most of you spent your time talking about whether it was a girl or a boy, whether or not they would like you, and often they took bets on who’s name would appear first. None of you mentioned the possibility of a name never appearing. 

Your first day of Middle school involved a lot of looks, most children had gained a soul name around five to six years old, the older you got after that, the more adults eyes began to have that peculiar shine to them, the one that made your stomach roil with guilt, shame, and anger. Your vocabulary words in class that week were: Vocal, Confusion, Supposed, and Pity. The last one tasted bitter in your mouth.

By the time you turned twelve, everyone you knew in your age bracket had a name. Your friends had all stopped asking if you’d found yours yet, their calls and texts to come hang out came less and less, and eventually most of them stopped all together. You heard one girl’s mother say you were a defective. You didn't know what it meant, but it felt like it fit you, like putting on a new coat for the first time. A coat that marked you like a leper.

On your best friends Sweet 16, your family went to hers for dinner. You could tell something was up with all the little glances that kept getting thrown around the table, she waited till you were about to leave to tell you the good news,

“I found her. My parents contacted hers and we’re setting up a meeting for next week and- well I’m actually kind of scared, I didn't expect to be but I guess you never really know what’s going to happen and I want you to be there. I don’t think I could do it without you.” 

She chewed on her fingernails when she was scared, she’d done it since the day you met her in kindergarten and she stuck playdough in Jared Stanson’s hair for making someone cry about not having their soul name yet. She was chewing them now, and you think that’s what made you agree to go.

The day they picked was nice. Sunny, slight breeze, it was a really good day to meet your soul mate on. You’ll probably never forget experiencing firsthand the moment two soulmates meet, it was like watching two stars collide, their eyes met and it was like a physical shift took place and you just knew…they were meant to be. Your friend looked like she’d just seen the sun rise for the first time. You cried when you got home.

The day you turned 17 was the first time they didn't ask about the name the minute you came downstairs. They wished you happy birthday, checked your back in case you’d somehow missed it, and then took you out for pizza and bowling. You heard them fighting later that night.

On your 18th birthday they stopped checking.


	2. I'm wishing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so unbelievably sorry for how long it took me to post this new chapter, I've had a lot of hard things happen in my family life lately and I haven't been able to write, but I felt particularly bad this week as I read some comments left by you guys asking if I was going to continue, so I stayed up till 3am writing this and slightly edited it this morning, honestly it's mainly a filler chapter to get the plot moving and get reader an in with the avengers, so sorry if it seems a little too convenient, I tried really hard to not make it that way but I figure it's always going to come out a little convenient when you have to mix your characters life with superheroes. Please enjoy, I know I did

Dear applicant #47,  
We thank you for your interest in our company,  
however we regret to inform you that at the moment we are not taking any more applications for the position. 

You blinked a couple of times, the words were still there as unchanging and final as ever. You shook your head, finding it hard to believe that this was happening…again. 

You re-read the words again, blah blah we regret to inform you blah blah no more applications to blah blah 

There it was again, still unchanging and still as mind boggling as ever. You’d done everything right, you had all the credentials and experience for the job, in fact you had more than enough, there was absolutely no reason for them to turn you down…except,

You turned your gaze down to the completely clear skin of your forearm, twenty three years and nothing resembling a soulmark had appeared anywhere, and the doctors had been completely thorough, probably more than was necessary thanks to your parents desperate arguments and ability to make a scene like none other. 

You sighed, this wasn’t your first attempt at a job “more suitable for your skills than your current job in retail” as her parents delicately put it, although you weren’t really sure what skills you were supposed to possess, and in two months you’d received no less than six rejection letters and at least two places hadn’t even bothered to reply once your soulmate status was revealed to them. You’d even had to lie about your lack of a soulmark to get your current job and they hired almost anyone as long as they had open availability, unfortunately there was no way to lie about soulmark status to a corporate company, in fact it was completely illegal, you could get away with lying to a tiny store on the outskirts of New York city, but that was only because you’d gotten lucky so far. One person at work knew about your status, and that was because you’d gone to middle school with him and the only reason you weren’t worried about it was because he’d openly rejected the idea of soulmates in general in front of the entire staff several times…like you’d said, they’d hire anyone with a decent schedule.

Your whole life had been one slammed door in your face after another whenever soulmark status got involved, including the time you had to get braces and the dentists assistant had refused to do even a regular check up on your teeth, but constant rejection for positions that you knew were still hiring and even worse had seemed completely interested up until they received all your information and could see the harsh, damning word written just underneath your age and SSN, Soulmark Status: Unmarked.

You glanced back down at the letter in your hand, once your information was released you’d never stood a chance. You’d held a small hope that moving to New York City would change things for you, surely a city notorious for being more open minded and accepting of strange lifestyles would be able to look past an Unmarked, but you’d had to learn the hard way that it wasn’t just in your childhood home that everything revolved around Soulmarks, after the first time you’d been attacked for being “Defective” as they’d yelled after you, you’d taken to wrapping up your wrist like many people with soulmarks who wanted to “Sow their wild oats” before they settled down did. 

You could never understand how a society could be so forgiving of those who completely turned their backs on the most fundamental basics of what having a soulmate meant, those who hid their mark and pretended that they didn’t have one until it was convenient for them, and yet completely ostracized those who were unlucky enough to have to face a life alone because of some stupid, twisted sense of humor that the universe carried.

“Keith totally lied!”  
You jumped in your seat, not expecting to hear your roommate Anna’s voice right behind you, the rejection letter was quickly crumpled up and shoved underneath a stack of books you had yet to return to the library  
“Remember how he told me he’d take me out tonight? Yeah well he’s rescheduling, again!” She threw her bag down on the floor, and you forced yourself to nod sympathetically, Keith was Anna’s soulmate and she spent about 95% of her time complaining about everything he did wrong, which seemed to be literally everything, but if you were quite honest you found it kind of difficult to feel sorry for the only girl in the room who actually had a soulmate.

“That really sucks, Anna.” You replied automatically, your attention refocused on your current predicament.

“I’m serious, this is the last straw!” She huffed

“Mmm.” You mumbled distractedly scanning through a couple more job notices your parents had sent you. This was only the third time this week that Anna had coming storming into the apartment yelling about something Keith had done wrong, normally it averaged around sixteen times, they were just getting started.

“He barely appreciates me anymore!” She flopped down on the couch dramatically, glaring at you when you didn’t respond. You were used to her behavior by now, she was actually a decent roommate if you ignored the temper tantrums involving Keith. You wondered often how you’d gotten lucky enough to find a roommate who was obsessed with soulmates but only if it pertained to her, she’d never even asked about your status when you’d answered her ad searching for a roommate that wouldn’t hit on her soulmate and wouldn’t touch her side of the fridge.

“If I had any sense, I’d cover this thing up,” She waved disgustedly towards her visible mark “And I’d apply for that internship at Stark tower! My Aunt works with him and I hear all about how Tony Starks the kinda man who doesn’t care whether you’ve got a mark or not.” She threw you a disturbing wink “If you know what I mean.”

“Mhmm-Wait what?” You glanced towards her finally “Stark tower is hiring interns?”

“Uh, duh, it’s only been plastered all over the internet.” She huffed, probably angry that you were finally paying attention and it had nothing to do with her personally.

You felt a slow curl of excitement and what felt distinctly like hope in your belly, Tony Stark was notorious for not giving a damn about anyone in his life having a soulmark whether they be friends, lovers, or staff. It was every defective’s dream to work at a place where you knew you wouldn’t be judged for anything except how well you did your job, a place where you could feel normal for once because no one cared if you weren’t, even if an internship wasn't exactly what you'd been looking for, it sure beat any job out there that you could actually get. 

You took a deep breath, the only way to get answers out of Anna was to feign indifference, or to play along with her games, but if she got even the slightest hint that you were more interested in the opportunity than you let on, she’d clam up and you’d have to find information without any helpful starting hints, your best bet would be to play along.

“Stark sure is a hottie.” You blushed slightly, hopefully that didn’t sound as forced as it felt.

“Oh god I know right!” She flopped down on the couch, “I certainly wouldn’t kick him out of bed.” She giggled, you relaxed a little, apparently she’d bought it

“Actually my parents were telling me about this receptionist job close to them yesterday, but you know how parents are and all.” You rolled your eyes and threw her a conspiratorial grin, she giggled again

“Oh you don’t have to tell me about clingy parents, mine won’t shut up about moving back into the neighborhood with Keith and joining the family practice.” She fake gagged, and you forced a laugh. “We obviously can’t let you return to that humdrum little area!” She exclaimed, pausing to think about it for a moment and you held your breath, would she take the bait? 

“Oh my god! You should totally apply for the internship!” She sat back up suddenly, you had to hold yourself back from pumping a fist in the air

“What? Me?” You cringed slightly hoping you weren’t laying it on too thick

“Definitely! That ridiculous retail job you're stuck in right now will only get you so far in life, and I was only joking about applying myself, I really do adore Keith you know and as far as I’m concerned you’d do really well there, what with how hard you work all the time.” You felt slightly touched, that was the nicest thing Anna had ever said about anyone but Keith before.

“That sure would be an amazing opportunity…But won’t there be thousands of applicants?” You felt the rise of optimism inside you plummet hard as soon as that particular thought manifested.

“Well yeah, but none of them will have one of Stark’s trusted employees as a recommendation.” Her smile looked a tad evil, “I’ve set my mind on you having this job, I’d rather it be you over any other smug bitch that’ll try to brag about it to everyone they meet, and when I set my mind to something I get it.”

“Trusted employee? How are you gonna pull that off?” You looked at her like she’d grown three heads, she sighed dramatically

“I told you my Aunt works with him, as far as I’m concerned you’ve already got the job.” She gestured towards her phone “I’ll call my Aunt tonight and have her finagle you an interview for you by at least next week if not sooner.” She looked bored as if she hadn’t just offered you the best opportunity of your life as casually as you’d offer someone a glass of water.

“Anna…thank you.” You felt like you were floating

“Think nothing of it, hon. I feel rather protective of you sometimes, it’s like you’re a little kitten lost in the big world and you need someone to take care of you, and I guess that’ll be me until you get over this ridiculous idea of ignoring your soulmark.” She giggled again while pointedly looking towards your wrapped up wrist that supposedly hid your soulmates name, you absentmindedly rubbed the area and she smirked before turning on the tv signaling an end to the conversation. 

You moved towards your bedroom, the sound of the beginning of one of her many shows ringing in your ears, for once you didn’t care if she had the volume up too loud, as far as you were concerned she could make your ears bleed and you’d bless her, she was giving you a way out of the endless circle of hellish nothingness your life had become with a one way job in a one way part of the city where no one would notice if you just dropped off the face of the earth. As far as you were concerned she had just offered you heaven on a silver platter and there was no way you were turning that down.

“Stark Towers…how about that?” You whispered to the ceiling

Soulmark be damned if you could get a job there.


End file.
